Mystery Vacation
by Miles Preston
Summary: Norman and his family are on vacation for the sole purpose of keeping Norman out of trouble and out of what his dad calls "ghost nonsense." But, a mystery filled with just the opposite unfolds as Norman meets Dipper and Mabel of Gravity Falls, Oregon. A Jr. High School may be haunted and it will be up to Dipper's smarts and Norman's gift to make sense of it all!
1. Chapter 1

Norman and his family have been driving for miles. They had a flight that landed in Portland, Oregon and they decided the next town they would drive to was Gravity Falls.

"Finally, a place where we can finally have rest and relaxation without ghosts, or paranormal activity or anything of the like," said Norman's dad, Perry.

"Dad, come on, I thought you were okay with me being able to see ghosts and stuff like that," said Norman.

"Well, that's why we took this trip. You may can see ghosts at home but maybe you won't see them so much in Gravity Falls," said the dad.

Norman rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the window where he saw the Gravity Falls water tower passing by as they drove straight into town.

"What your father is trying to say, honey, is that he just wants to help you take a time out from all of the ghost talking and ghoulish stuff," said Norman's mother, Sandra.

"At least my sister didn't come with us," said Norman.

"Well, she had plans already with her friends, you know that," said mom.

"All I know is, we'll be free from all of the insane madness of home and in a new environment for a few days where no weird silliness will take place," said the dad.

Meanwhile, at the Mystery Shack, Grunkel Stan was FINALLY installing a new "S" to the sign above his house reading "Mystery Shack."

"Grunkle Stan, finally installing a new 'S' huh!?" asked Dipper.  
"Yeah, no thanks to anyone else. But, hey, a man gotta do what a man gotta do, right!?" said Stan.  
"You need any help," asked Dipper.  
"No, no, I'm fine, my fear of heights are cured, remember!?" said Stan in response.

Dipper took his attention from Grunkel Stan and looked towards the roadway. The Babcock's were pulling up and stopped the car in the middle of the dirt road parking spots.

"HI…I'm Perry and this is Sandra Babcock, and this is our son Norman, you have any hotels around here," asked Perry, Norman's father.

"Well, actually, we…" Dipper was interrupted immediately by Stan.

"Actually, THIS IS a hotel…welcome to the Mystery Shack Inn…100 dollars a night," said Stan.

"But, Grunkel Stan…" said Dipper who was a little confused. He knew there was no room in the shack, at least that's why he thought.

"Not now boy, I'm trying to make a closing deal here," whispered Stan.

"A 100 a night, that's an awful lot," said Perry.

"50 a night…with breakfast, my niece Mabel can cook a mean omelet," said Stan.

"Deal!" said Perry. "We're looking to just have a relaxing weekend somewhere out here with no issues, no weird activity, just peace and quiet."

"Don't I know it, my name is Stan Pines…this is my odd but reasonable nephew, Dipper, his sister Mabel is inside with her pet pig, Waddles," said Stan.

"Oh, wonderful, how old are you Dipper," asked Sandra.

"12 years old ma'am," said Dipper.

"Oh wonderful, you are about our son, Norman's age, you guys should have a LOT in common," said Sandra.

"I bet not, unless Dipper can see ghosts too," said Perry to his wife in a whisper.

Perry and Sandra walked inside the shack with Stan, leaving Dipper and Norman outside of the shack, standing around in the parking lot.

"Hey…" said Norman, shyly as he introduced himself to Dipper.

"Hi, so…Norman, where are you guys from," asked Dipper.

"We're from Blythe Hollow. My parents just wanted to go somewhere in the middle of nowhere for vacation, so, here I am," said Norman.

"Well, you found it right here," said Dipper as he grinned and tried to laugh a little at his own comment.

A few seconds of silence stood between the boys. Dipper noticed that Norman was staring out in what looked like the distance or space.

"Uh…Norman, you okay?" asked Dipper.

"Wha…oh, sorry," said Norman. "I just thought I saw something."

"So…uh…your dad, he made some kinda weird remark there a moment ago…what's this about seeing ghosts…I mean, if its okay that I ask," asked Dipper.

Norman hesitated to tell, but he went on ahead and confessed.

"I can see ghosts…all the time…every time…24/7…speak to them and everything," said Norman. "My dad thinks that maybe if we took a vacation away from home I wouldn't. But honestly, I've been feeling a weird vibe about this place ever since we got here."

"Wow…that's…" Dipper was interrupted.

"Strange…freaky…" said Norman. "Its okay, I'm used to it."

"NO…AWESOME," said Dipper. "I've seen a lot of strange things happen at Gravity Falls ever since I got here. I have stories, trust me. You should join us in solving the latest mystery!"

"DID SOMEBODY SAY MYSTERY…" yelled Mabel as she jumped from behind Dipper and Norman. Right next to her was Waddles dressed in a Sherlock Holmes outfit.

"Norman, this is my sister, Mabel," said Dipper.

"Nice to meet you," said Norman as she shook Mabel's hand.

"Hi Norman, I'm Mabel and this is Waddles," said Mabel as Waddles oinked and snorted. He started walking towards Norman and walking around him.

"So, let's go in," said Dipper.

As Dipper, Norman and Mabel walked into the shack, they noticed the adults, Stan, Sandra and Perry, talking to one another at the dinner table, drinking coffee.

"Hey, Grunkle Stan, we're all going upstairs, just hanging out," said Dipper.

"Sure, kid!" said Stan.

"I'm so glad you are all getting along," said Sandra. "Be good, and enjoy yourself, Norman."

"And remember what we talked about!" said Perry.

Norman tilted his head downward a bit. This caught Mabel's attention. Something just didn't seem right.

They finally made it to Dipper and Mabel's bedroom. Dipper immediately walked over to his desk and grabbed the book with the number 3 on the front cover.

"Why is there a three on it," asked Norman.

"That's what me and Mabel are trying to figure out. Whoever wrote it didn't really finish this one either. There's a lot of unanswered questions," said Dipper. "Otherwise, there's something else me and Mabel are looking into, they say the local middle school is haunted."

"Well…maybe…but how do you even know," asked Norman.

"That's where you'll come in. You can see ghosts. I've seen ghosts too, but you see the ones that are fully invisible, so that may work to our advantage," said Dipper.

"Sounds a little…" Norman was interrupted.

"Please…come with us! It'll be cool. Look, we won't tell your dad," said Mabel.

"How do you even know…" asked Norman.

"We saw how your dad reacted for a sec there. He doesn't seem to support the whole 'ghost' thing with you," said Norman.

"He doesn't, Norman!?" asked Dipper.

"No…no he doesn't. He sort of thinks I'm a little weird. In fact the whole reason we are on this vacation is to get away from home. He also wants to get me away from seeing ghosts and other stuff," said Norman.

"For starters, your dad picked the wrong town. Gravity Falls is loaded with mysterious things…ghosts included," said Dipper.

"That's just great," said Norman. "Just when I thought I could have a normal vacation!"

"Norman, we didn't mean to…" Dipper was interrupted.

"Its okay, man! I know that others are a little astonished. I guess…just for a second, I wanted to be normal, you know. Maybe my dad is right," said Norman as he sat on the side of one of the bunk beds nearest him.

"Norman?" said Dipper. Mabel knew what Dipper was about to show Norman as he lifted some of his hair out of the way of his forehead, showing the 'big dipper' birth mark.

"Woah!" said Norman. "That's cool."

Dipper grinned.

"Never let anyone tell you that being weird is a bad thing, plus, you're practically one of us," said Dipper as he grabbed a soda from the mini-fridge in the room. He threw a can at Norman and he caught it. He also threw one to Mabel. As Dipper popped the can open, he toasted Norman…"welcome to Gravity Falls, Norman."

Norman grinned and he clang his soda can against Dipper's and Mabel's, making it official that he was a part of the crew.

"So, what do you say, will you help us look into what's going on at this middle school," asked Dipper.

"Let's do this!" said Norman.

"I'll get Sherlock Waddles!" said Mabel in excitement.

"Oh, wait…what will we tell my Mom and Dad and Stan," asked Norman. "If my dad finds out he'll freak."

"No worries, I got that covered," said Dipper.


	2. Chapter 2

As Dipper, Norman and Mabel made their way to the door of their bedroom, the door immediately swung open. It was Soos on the other side.

"Woah, Soos, you surprised us," said Dipper as he wiped his brow.

"Actually, you only surprised Dipper, me and Norman were fine," said Mabel.

"No problem dudes! I'm just looking for the extra air mattresses. Mr. Pines says we have some guests. Funny, I didn't know this place was a hotel," said Soos.

"It's not! Or at least, its not supposed to be," said Dipper.

"It'll be fun," said Mabel with excitement.

"Hey, Soos, we gotta kinda sneak off to the old abandoned middle school! Can you cover for us!? Don't tell Grunkle Stan or Norman's parents or anyone, alright!?" asked Dipper.

"Got it, dudes! But, uh, whose the tall hair kid!?" asked Soos.

"Oh, that's Norman, Norman, this is our friend Soos," said Dipper.

Norman stayed quiet and waved, leaving on his face a small grin.

"He's on vacation with his parents and is staying here for a few days," said Dipper. "You see, he…" Dipper was interrupted by Soos.

Soos walked up to Norman and started looking closer at him.

"Wait a sec, you're Norman Babcock are you!?" asked Soos.

"Yeah," said Norman as he nodded his head.

"Oh DUDE, you are SO popular on the internet! There's a site about you along with other kids who can see ghosts! There's even a middle schooler who went to the abandoned school and transferred a few months back, they said he was like Norman," said Soos.

"Wha..Really!?" asked Dipper and Norman at the same time.

"Yep, but hey, that's all I know. It might be an urban legend though, either way, good to have a celebrity here," said Soos as he left.

"Okay guys, just follow my lead," said Dipper.

Once Dipper, Norman and Mabel made it downstairs they made their way to the back door of the Mystery Shack, just near the adults who were still sitting around drinking coffee.

"Where are you goofballs headed," said Grunkle Stan.

"Of course we're not going to an old abandoned building somewhere," said Mabel.

"Wait, say what," asked Norman's mom.

Dipper covered Mabel's mouth and started pushing her out of the back door.

"Were headed over to…well…just get some air somewhere," said Dipper as Norman followed behind.

"Yeah, sure kid," said Grunkle Stan. As the door closed behind Norman who was last to walk out, Stan turns to Mr. and Mrs. Babcock and reacts, "pfft, kids today with their fresh air and loud music," as he sips his coffee.

"I know, right! That's what me and my husband were JUST talking about," said Mrs. Babcock.

Norman walked a little faster just to catch to Mabel and Dipper. He was taller, but he normally would tread slower than most.

"You guys have more ghosts then my hometown," said Norman.

"Really, you actually see them!?" asked Mabel.

"I think we actually covered this," said Dipper.

"Hello….Hi…excuse us…sorry," said Norman.

"Uh, who are you talking too…" said Dipper.

"The ghosts, silly," said Mabel. "Remember, he sees them, but we can't."

They walked a few more minutes longer and soon they finally made their way to the middle school.

"OK, there it is, according to this book, there's actually supposed to be some kind of map or something that leads to something big and important inside the school," said Dipper.

"Well, let's split up gang!" said Mabel as she put on an ascot and pointed towards the door. Waddles walked up from behind dressed up as Scooby Doo.

"Is your sister always like that?" asked Norman.

"You have to ask!?" said Dipper as he grinned. "Come on, let's go in, the sooner we get in the quicker we can solve this mystery."

As Norman walked ahead of Dipper towards the front door, he noticed the glass door was broken apart with glass shards left on the ground both inside and outside of the entrance.

"Wow, what a mess," said Norman as he touched a part of the door that had no glass, slowly opening it. As Norman opened the door, the door fell to the floor, breaking the glass. Everyone jumped.

"Woah, that was loud," said Mabel.

"Come on, let's go," said Dipper.

As they walked into the school they stopped in the lobby. They noticed three hallways; one ahead of them, and one to the left and the other to the right.

"Well, there doesn't seem to be any activity at all in the school," said Dipper.

"Yeah, I guess you're…" said Norman as he suddenly stopped mid-sentence. He noticed a ghost that appeared at the corner of his eye just down the hall.

"Wait…something was down there," said Norman.

"You sure," said Dipper.

"I'm positive, something flashed over there," said Norman.

"TO VICTORY!" said Mabel. "Let's go get that ghost!"

"Actually Mabel, we're really looking for some clues to this Myst…" said Dipper as Mabel grabbed Dipper and started running behind Norman towards the end of the hallway.

"Let's go!" said Norman. "I'm sure its this way!"

As they made their way down the middle of the hallway, the floor began to crack and lower. The ground crumbled below Dipper, Mabel and Norman and they start falling down a hole.

They all screamed as they fell down the dark hole.

"I guess I took too big of a risk this time," Dipper thought to himself as he fell.

Everything went completely black. All he could hear was Mabel's and Norman's screams.


	3. Chapter 3

Dipper's eyes opened up. His vision was at first blurry. He had a headache and it felt as though he fell first on his back. As his eyes slowly cleared up, he saw a white light.

"Oh no, no, no, please, I can't die," whispered Dipper to himself.

"Calm down, Dipper, its just us," said Mabel.

Mabel and Norman were standing together. Norman was holding the flashlight in front of Dipper and then shifted the light over towards a tunnel that was behind Dipper.

"Oh, good, good, wow, so, where are we anyways," asked Dipper.

"We wanted to ask you that, you had the map last," said Norman.

"Let's see," said Dipper as he pulled out his rather complicated map of the school and his book with the number three on it.

"OK! The last thing I remember was that we were chasing after a ghost or something at the end of the middle hall. That's right here," said Dipper as he pointed at the section of the school's hallway on the map. "So, we fell here, but I don't see a section for any tunnels."

"Maybe they didn't mention it before when they built the school," said Norman. "There are tons of hidden tunnels and passageways in my hometown. Some believe a few of them are haunted so they blocked them off with wooden boards or solid bricks."

"Well, there's a tunnel behind you Dipper, let's go in there. Also, where's Waddles!?" asked Mabel. "Waddles!?"

Mabel cried out for the pig but she couldn't hear a response.

"Maybe Waddles left for home before walking in with us. Or he's still outside the school," said Dipper. "Well, if you guys are good to go, let's just go through the tunnel and see where it leads!"

As Dipper led the way with Norman holding the flash light key chain, Mabel followed next to Norman. She appeared scared.

"Are you scared, Norman?" asked Mabel.

"Me, nah, the only thing that usually scares me is homework," said Norman.

"You and me both," said Dipper. "Just try not to think about it."

Mabel for the first time seemed to be a little scared of the situation. She quickly grabbed Norman's right hand. Norman in his surprise quickly looked to Mabel. She could tell she was just afraid.

"It'll be fine," said Norman in a whisper.

"Hey, there are some weird symbols on these tunnel walls!" said Dipper.

Norman pointed to the side of the tunnel wall to get a bitter and well lit view. On the walls were arrows pointing directly towards where they were talking. Norman then spoke up. The arrows and symbols looked familiar.

"Wait a sec…I've seen this before," said Norman.

He pointed the flash light towards Dipper's feet and Norman's theory started coming together. Right next to Dipper's feet were old, rusted railroad tracks.

"Wanna bet this place is really a subway tunnel?" said Norman.

"HAHA, very funny Norman, there's no subways in 'Gravity Fa…'" said Dipper as his head turned towards the right side of the wall. Immediately he saw a painted symbol on the wall that looked like he was painted back in the 1980s reading "Gravity Falls Subway System."

"I don't believe it, that means the main station or something must be just ahead," said Dipper.

"But why is the school built over the tunnel? Could it possibly have been a stop at one time?," asked a now curious Norman.

"Grunkle Stan never said anything to us about an underground subway system," said Mabel.

"What do you expect, its Grunkle Stan," said Dipper.

As Dipper, Norman and Mabel walked down the tunnel they finally made it to a large metal door that was partially opened.

"Well, let's see what's in here," said Dipper.

As he pushed the door open, the metal door swung slowly over to the left. Behind the door was a giant subway station.

"Wow, its like Grand Central Station in New York or something," said Norman.

"Yeah, no joke, this is a amazing," said Dipper.

Dipper climbed out of the tunnel ditch and up onto the platform, followed behind Norman and Mabel. Once Mabel was helped up to the platform by Norman, Mabel grabbed Norman's hand again.

"Uh, Mabel," said Norman as he motioned his head for Mabel to observe they were still holding hands.

"So…?" said Mabel with a smile on her face.

"Nevermind," said Norman.

Dipper noticed briefly as they walked up a wall with an old news paper clipping hanging on it that Norman and Mabel were holding hands.

He chose not to speak about it.

"Hey, guys, check this out, an old newspaper clipping that may explain this whole thing about the middle school," said Dipper.

"So, what's it say?" asked Mabel.

"It says that the subway system had to close because of some 'strange occurences'" said Dipper. "But it also says that a middle school would be built somewhere in its place…the location…wow, the paper says the school used to be an old subway stop…the stop was called 'Jeremy,' named after a 13-year-old who …." Dipper stopped reading.

"Well…?" asked Norman.

"That's all it says…it just, sorta stops!" said Dipper.

"Does your book have anything on this place, or even who this 'Jeremy' kid is," asked Norman.

"No, not at all, but wait, let me see something," exclaimed Dipper as he pulled his book back out. He began to turn pages and found a small article cut out seemingly completing the newspaper clip that was on the old wall Dipper was reading from.

"OK, I think I found something, its an old clipping in this book and it looks like its from a newspaper. It says, 'Jeremy' was 13 and lived with his parents in old downtown Gravity Falls. Often bullied…," and Dipper stopped again.

"Another dead end, huh!?" said Mabel.

"Please don't say that," said Norman, jokingly!

"Ha, you're funny," said Mabel as he lightly punched Norman in the arm.

"No, you're funny," said Norman, as he laughed .

"Uh, guys, what do you say we go above ground and get to the bottom of this," said Dipper.

"Sure Dipper, I'm down with that," said Mabel as she started laughing.

"Oh, OH, haha, yeah, you got me, now I see what I just did there," said Dipper as he laughed lightly.

It didn't take too long for Dipper, Mabel and Norman to find an exit out of the terminal. It turns out the exit was actually a door that Dipper and Mabel often passed by when they walked around the arcade.

"Who knew, so the arcade was also a stop for the sub system, must've been the main sub terminal," said Dipper.

"Woah, what are you guys doing way over here," said Soos. Turns out he was at the arcade just as Dipper, Norman and Mabel were walking towards the front door, thankful to see the top of the ground again.

"We were underground after we fell down a hole at the old middle school," said Dipper. "Did you even know Gravity Falls had an old subway system!?"

"Actually, yes, my parents used it ALL the time," said Soos.

"Why didn't you even TELL us," said Mabel.

"You never asked," said Soos.

"Then, have any aliens landed in Gravity Falls before!?" asked Dipper with a big smile on his face.

"Actually, no, but I thought I saw one when I was your age. That or it was my aunt," said Soos.

"Come on guys, we got some reading and researching to do," said Dipper. "Later, Soos!" yelled Dipper as he and Soos waved goodbye.

As Dipper, Mabel and Norman walked across the street, Norman noticed a ghost couldn't of been much older than Dipper on the other end of the sidewalk they were approaching. Other ghosts who appeared to be his age too were picking on him and beating him up.

Norman reacted!

"HEY, get away from him, leave him alone you jerks!" yelled Norman as he ran to the ghostly crew.

"Norman, what's wrong!?" yelled Dipper.

Dipper and Norman ran quickly across to the sidewalk where Norman was, watching him talk to what looked like thin air.

"Oh, he's talking to a ghost," said Dipper.

"You better run," yelled Norman as he watched the ghostly bullies fly away.

The ghost boy was still laying there. His glasses were on the ground and his backpack was laying on the ground with his books scattered across the sidewalk.

"Hey man, are you okay!?" said Norman. He almost forgot that he was a ghost as he almost tried to give the ghost boy a hand.

"I'm fine, I guess, this happens almost everyday around this time," said the ghost boy. "But, for the first time, you were the only one to see it and stop it."

"It's what anyone should do, what's your name!?" asked Norman.

"My name…is Jeremy!"


	4. Chapter 4

Norman stood there, staring into what Dipper and Mabel saw was thin air. Dipper and Mabel were standing behind Norman, watching Norman converse with the ghost they couldn't see. The boy, Jeremy, began to gather his books and his backpack that was scattered in front of him.

"So, you're the one they named after this subway system that was built but later turned into a middle school!?" asked Norman.

"Wait, WHAT!? Are you talking to a ghost version of Jeremy!?" yelled Dipper in excitement.

"Yes, he's right here in front of us," said Norman. "Jeremy, my name is Norman, and this is Dipper and his sister, Mabel."

"Nice to meet you and your friends," said Jeremy as he stood up and put on his backpack. He then put on his glasses.

"Nice to meet you and your friends," said Jeremy.

Norman turned his head slightly towards Dipper and Norman.

"Jeremy says it's nice to meet you both," said Norman.

"Cool!" said Mabel with a huge smile. "Jeremy, you're safe with us!"

"Jeremy, why don't you hang with us? We're sort of trying to solve a mystery about this middle school. Or, are you the one haunting the school!?" asked Norman.

Jeremy shyly let his head down. He seemed ashamed about something.

"It's not me! The kids you saw chasing after me and picking on me, they hang around the middle school," said Jeremy.

"But why would they be haunting the school!?" asked Norman.

"Good question," said Dipper. While he didn't here Jeremy speak, he at least heard Norman. Dipper took out a pen and began to take notes in his book.

"A long time ago, after I died, not long after, those same boys came up missing. My mother and father resigned as city councilmen when the police and fire department gave up the search," said Jeremy.

"Are those boys the kids of parents who were also on the city council for Gravity Falls?" asked Norman.

"Yes…they forced my parents to resign. They figured that I was haunting them. But, I wasn't! They made up a lie about me even after I died. But my parents knew I was being bullied by those same kids," said Jeremy. "The parents of those boys got jealous after the city voted to name the subway stop that's now a school after me."

Norman's hands were clenched, balled up into fists. The look on his face was of disdain and almost anger. He couldn't believe something so cruel could've happened, but he's seen and heard this story all too often.

"Out of curiosity…what's your last name!?" asked Norman.

"Falls…" said Jeremy.

"Uh…Dipper!?" asked a now surprised Norman. "Can you look up Jeremy Falls in your book!?"

"Jeremy Falls!? Could he be related to the city councilmen for district 3 for Gravity Falls…Wiley Falls!?" asked Dipper to Mabel.

"It's worth a shot…TO VICTORY!?" yelled Mabel. "To City Hall!"

"Jeremy, can you come with us. We want to help you. We want you to be at rest for good and not have to go through the bullying and torture over and over again," said Norman.

"There's nothing you can do, Norman. I'm sure of it!" said Jeremy.

"We can still try," said Norman.

"It's not in the book, but we can go to city hall. It's just down the road," said Dipper. "Then let's go, you can explain to us everything Jeremy said to you on the way there."

"OK, let's go," said Norman.

As Dipper and Mabel listened to Norman, Jeremy floated alongside of them, listening to the discussion they were having. They make it to the front of city hall and get ready to walk through the front door, when suddenly Wendy drives up in a pick-up truck and pulls over to the curb.

"Hey, guys! What's up!" yells Wendy.

"Wendy, HI!" yells Dipper as he runs back down the stairs from the city hall doors and towards Wendy.

"What are you doing here!?" asked Dipper.

"Just hanging, running errands for dad," said Wendy. "Who is the new guy?"

Wendy looked towards Norman looked towards Wendy. As Wendy smiled at Norman, Norman smiled and waved.

"Oh, that's Norman, he's just in town here on vacation. Grunkle Stan is letting his family stay with us at the Shack," says Dipper, almost nervously in front of Wendy.

"That's strange, I didn't know the Mystery Shack was a hotel too!?" said Wendy.

"I know, right!?" said Dipper as he chuckled.

As Wendy walked up the stairs towards the front door of city hall, Dipper followed behind.

"We're just doing a little research, just don't tell Grunkle Stan," said Dipper.

"You know I won't big D," said Wendy with a grin on her face.

"Yo, MABEL!" yelled Wendy as she walked up the stairs and high-fived Mabel.

"HI, I'm…I'm Norman," said Norman as he extended his arm in nervousness to shake Wendy's hand.

"Hi Norman, welcome to Gravity Falls," said Wendy. "Hope you can deal with all the weird stuff!"

"Oh, you have NO idea," said Norman. "I uh, like your hat!"

Dipper's eyes quickly averted to Norman. His facial expression was almost that of suspicion towards Norman.

"Thanks guy, I like your jacket! Red looks good on you," said Wendy.

Norman's face turned almost a complete red.

"So, uh, how about this investigation, huh!?" said Dipper. His suspicion was just about confirmed.

"Well, I better get going then. Nothing to do at city hall anyway," said Wendy. "Catch you guys later at the Shack tonight, okay!? We can watch a movie or something!"

"Bye Wendy" said Dipper and Norman at the same time.

Both boys looked at each other and began to laugh and then later grin. It was as if both knew what the other was thinking.

"Let's go in guys," said Dipper as Norman, Mabel and Jeremy walk through the doors and into city hall.

The marble floor was the first thing that caught the eye of the kids as they walked into the middle of the lobby. Above them was a dome ceiling with white words engraved above "City of Gravity Falls."

"We need to look for some pictures or some kind of information on a 'Wiley Falls,'" said Dipper.

"I can tell you that, though! Wiley Falls is my cousin. He ran for office after my parents resigned," said Jeremy towards Norman.

"Jeremy says that's his cousin," says Norman to Dipper.

"Well, let's go to the city hall's archives, or the information desk over there," said Mabel.

"Tell ya what, Mabel, why don't you go over to the information desk. Me and Norman will go to the city hall's archives and if you can't find anything at the desk just come over to the archives room," said Dipper.

"OK little brother," said Mabel with a smile on her face.

"Little brother!?" asked Norman.

"Only by a few seconds! But enough of that, I gotta ask you something," said Dipper as he, Norman and Jeremy walked over to the archives.

"Do you like Wendy!?" asked Dipper.

"What, ME, ha, no way!" said Norman.

"Really, Norman please! I saw you out there, what was that all about?" said Dipper.

"OK, fine, I do like her, she's awesome! But why!? You like her or something?" asked Norman.

"YES! How did you guess!" said Dipper.

"You couldn't be more obvious," said Norman with a smile on his face, almost chuckling.

"OK, OK, fine," said Dipper. "Look, she's taken anyway. Robbie V is going out with her."

"Whose that?" asked Norman.

"You'll meet him soon enough…maybe not if we're lucky. Look, if you like her, that's cool, I'm cool," said Dipper. "But, she might not be into long distance relationships though.

"Wanna bet!?" asked Norman. "You heard her, she said 'red looks good' on me!"

"HA, you're serious aren't you? OK, fine ghost boy, we can do this dance. By the end of the night, the one to impress Wendy the most get's wendy…with the responsibility of dealing with Robbie V of course!" said Dipper.

"Sounds like a plan then, 'little brother,'" said Norman as Dipper and Norman both shake hands on the deal.

Norman and Dipper along with Jeremy finally walk into the archive office. As they walk in, they see books and papers lined up along a large table in the middle of the room.

"It looks like someone's been in here," said Dipper. "Hey, this is luck on our side, a folder with information on Wiley Falls."

Dipper pulls up the folder and begins reading.

Inside it is a picture of Wily Falls and his voting record. Also inside is a one page biography of his life. A piece of paper slips out of the folder. The piece of paper is a newspaper clipping.

"Hey, look, something slipped out of the folder," said Norman as he picked it up. "Woah, Norman, look at this! The story about Jeremy's parents. Jeremy are these your parents!?"

Jeremy looked and nodded his head yes. Jeremy was looking at the clipping and noticed at the bottom of the article a bit of information on "haunting's" that were taking place at the school. They were describing seeing a 13-year-old kid with glasses standing around the halls at night.

"Wait a sec, Jeremy, I'm reading here they said they saw someone that's described to look like you in the haunting of the school," said Norman.

Jeremy kept his head down, his hair almost covering his face entirely.

"OK, I admit it…I haunted the subway stop, but not the school," said Jeremy. "And…I…well…sort of scared the bullies."

"Wait a sec…Jeremy…what happened," said Norman.

"Uh, Norman….I found something else. The boys, they didn't just end up 'missing' per se, but something happened in that subway stop," said Dipper. "It says the three boys were…" but Dipper stopped reading.

"You didn't!?" asked Norman to Jeremy.

"It was an accident," said Jeremy. "I didn't mean for them to…to…I…I just wanted to scare them."

Mabel opened the door to the archive room where Dipper and Norman were standing, talking to Jeremy.

"Guys, you won't believe what I just found out from the information desk. The three boys, they died after falling in front of a moving…" Mabel said as she stopped in mid-sentence. "What's wrong?"

Norman and Dipper look to Mabel with a stern look on their face and then turned to where Jeremy as standing.

"Better start talking," said Norman.


	5. Chapter 5

As Mabel walked in and closed the door to the archive room behind her, she walked over to Dipper and took a glance at what he was holding. The newspaper clipping revealed the truth about Jeremy.

"Jeremy, this can't be true, is it!?" asked Mabel.

"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!" yelled Jeremy.

Norman was the only one to hear him yell in panic.

"Jeremy, just tell us! What happened that day!" asked Norman calmly.

"When I died and became a ghost, the boys always used that subway stop to go to and from home and school. I used to make strange things happen in the terminal," said Jeremy.

Norman sat down at the table as he listened to Jeremy speak. Dipper and Mabel did the same, just listening for Norman's replies.

"I would cause lights to flash off and on, and sometimes I would cause the speaker system to make strange sounds. One day, I guess…I sort of, went too far," said Jeremy as he was choking back tears. "They got really scared and they fell onto the track. They couldn't get out in time, so…"

Jeremy burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably as he turned his back towards Norman. Norman sighed, almost in tears himself, thinking about how painful and horrifying it had to be to endure such a tragedy.

"So…you watched them die," said Norman.

"I wanted to get back at them, but not like this. I'm sorry…." said Jeremy as he talked through his tears.

"We're not at all much different. When people hurt us, we feel like we have to do something about it, maybe even hurt them back. But, Jeremy, you've learned the hard way, doing that solves nothing. I'm sorry about what happened, but we can make this right," said Norman.

Jeremy continued to cry, but not as hard as he did originally.

Dipper and Mabel jumped back in shock. They weren't expecting Norman to speak suddenly as he was trying to get the whole story from Jeremy.

"Wha…what did you just say, Norman!?" said Dipper.

"Just a sec, Dipper," whispered Norman. "Jeremy? Why are you still a ghost though? What is it that you have to do first…what is it that you're not telling us…maybe we can help you!"

"My parents are still angry. I feel like I cost them their jobs and their destiny. They are holding a lot of un-forgiveness for the parents of the boys who were bullying me," said Jeremy.

"How did you die?" asked Norman.

"Well…a long time ago, those same guys were pushing me. I guess I didn't see where I was going and everything was moving so fast. They pushed me against a wall and I hit my head," said Jeremy. "When my parents confronted their parents, they denied it, but other kids said they saw what happened. No charges were filed. An election was coming up and a lot of threats started coming in to my parents from their parents."

"So, you took revenge on them in a way," said Norman. "That's why you did what you did at the subway."

"Yeah," said Jeremy with his head down.

"I know what you're thinking, and it won't work. My parents and their parents passed away a long time ago. My cousin, Wiley Falls, is the only living member of my family in Gravity Falls," said Jeremy.

"What if we talk to him, where does he stay," asked Norman as he turned his head to Dipper and Mabel.

"I got the address right here. We can go talk to him right now," said Mabel.

"OK, let's do it," said Dipper as he jumped out of his chair, following Mabel behind the door. Norman was still sitting down as Dipper was just about to walk out. As he cracked the door open slightly while following Mabel, he turned over to Norman.

"You coming dude!?" asked Dipper.

Norman sat silently, almost as if he was still listening to Jeremy. A tear was rolling down his eye.

"You okay, Norman?" asked Dipper.

Norman sighed as he wiped his eye with his sleeve jacket.

"Yeah…I'm, I'm fine, let's go," said Norman as he stood up and walked out the door. Dipper closed the door and walked behind Norman and Mabel. They walked out of city hall and headed towards the location of city councilmen Wiley Falls.


	6. Chapter 6

Norman led the way, followed by Jeremy. Dipper was walking along the right of Norman as he held onto the folder that verified information on Jeremy's uncle, Wiley Falls. Mabel was walking along Norman's left.

Norman finally stopped. It seemed like it took them at least 20 to 30 minutes to get to the edge of Gravity Falls. Just before passing the city limit sign on the south side of the city, a small house on a hill welcomes travelers coming along the leaf covered country road.

"That's the house?" asked Norman.

"Yeah, sure is," said Jeremy. Since Dipper and Mabel couldn't see or hear Jeremy, Norman announced out loud that they arrived to the home of Wiley Falls.

"We're here guys, Jeremy said so," said Norman.

"Good, let's see if we can get to the bottom of this," said Dipper.

The kids walked up the hill and along the driveway. The home looked brand new and parked outside of the garage was a pick-up truck. They walked up to the front porch and stopped at the door. Dipper reached for the doorbell and everyone waited.

As they waited, Dipper looked in the folder again, hoping to see something new in the documents. As he looked, he noticed the section for race, marked with a B.

"Norman, could you ask Jeremy what his race is!?" asked Dipper, almost ashamed of even bothering to ask.

"Why!? What does it matter!?" asked Norman. He was merely curious as to where Dipper was going with this.

"Race doesn't matter, Dipper!" said Mabel.

"Look, Jeremy's vital information verified that he's black…is there any possibility that maybe the bullying was also a…" Dipper was interrupted as the door opened immediately.

It was a black gentlemen who opened the door. He almost looked like a different version of Grunkle Stan, from the glasses to the hat.

"What do you kids needs!?" asked the man.

"Uh…excuse us sir, but, are you former councilmen Wiley Falls?" asked Mabel with a smile.

"Who wants to know!?" said the man. "Why!?"

"Oh, good, so you are. I know this is going to sound kind of weird, and we don't mean to disturb you, but we wanted to talk to you about a kid we sort of met named…Jeremy Falls!" said Dipper.

"My nephew, Jeremy Falls, is dead because you people killed him! Now, get off my property before I call the police!" said Wiley as he slammed the door.

"I think you got your answer, Dipper," said Norman, almost shocked.

"I wish I was wrong this time," said Dipper as he tilted his head slightly downward, rubbing his shoulder in a way of disgrace.

"He was affected a lot. He never used to be that way," said Jeremy. "He taught me so much, he was like another Dad to me."

Mabel turned her head toward the street and then to Dipper. She then looked to Norman and finally spoke.

"Maybe we should just leave well enough alone. It's sad, but, he must feel horrible about it all," said Mabel.

Dipper frowned. He clutched his fist and responded after a few seconds.

"No…" said Dipper as he walked back to the door and started knocking on the glass, just hard enough to make a commotion.

"Mr. Falls, we got information on Jeremy and we want to help you. We're not the kind of people you THINK we are!" yelled Dipper.

Wiley opened the door immediately and was about to yell at Dipper.

"We know it hurts, but, please, just give us a chance to talk to you. We won't be long, and, if you're not satisfied with what we say to you, then we will leave, we promise!" yelled Dipper.

Wiley's face went from anger to a look of concern and curiosity. He opened the door wider and started to stare at Dipper, just barely squinting his eyes.

"You're Pines' boy are you," asked Wiley, almost grinning.

"Well, sort of, Stanley Pines is my uncle, we call him Grunkle Stan, of the "Mystery Shack," my name is Dipper Pines," said Dipper with a grin on his face. He removed his hat off his head as an attempt to show respect to the old man.

"I'm his sister, Mabel, and this is Norman Babcock, a guest at the Mystery Shack and friend," said Mabel.

"But the Mystery Shack isn't a hotel or inn!" said Wiley Falls.

"I know, I've been saying that the whole time," said Dipper.

"Tell you what, kids, come in, but no funny business," said Wiley Falls.

"Oh Dipper is good about that. He's not very funny," said Mabel.

Dipper simply rolled his eyes and allowed Mabel to walk in first. He walked in and was followed by Norman.

They walked into the living room and sat down on the couch that was adjacent to a huge window in the living room.

"OK, boy, what is it that you want to say! And mind you, I don't have a whole lot of time," said Wiley.

"Yes sir. You see…well…tell 'em Norman!" said Dipper.

"Basically, we met a ghost today, or rather I did. I met a kid and his name is Jeremy Falls. He said he was bullied. We did a lot of research. We found out that he died young, not far from our own ages," said Norman.

Wiley sat there, listening and eyeballing Norman.

"Seriously!?" said Wiley in his stern voice.

"Ye..yes..yes sir," said Norman.

"You see, he told us about you so we researched and found that he accidentally caused the death of the boys who bullied him. His parents resigned and we read about it all," said Dipper.

"So, what's the point!" said Wiley. "Why bring up such terrible memories."

"Well, we want to let you know that Jeremy is with us. He wanted us to tell you some things and we want to make it right," said Norman.

"You kids…want to make something that happened a long time ago right!?" said Wiley.

"Yes, if we can, we really do, we genuinely care," said Mabel.

"I don't want to over step my bounds here, but….was….it…." Dipper nearly finished his sentence as Wiley gave an almost dark stare towards Dipper.

"Was it…um…racially motivated, you think!?" asked Dipper.

"I know it was," said Wiley. "You kids have a minute,"

Dipper, Norman and Mabel stared at each other and then back at Wiley. They nodded in unison in a quick and subtle way.

"Gravity Falls has a very colorful history, and I mean that in every sense of the word, boy! Me and my family came to Gravity Falls when I took a job in politics here. I marched with Dr. King, I served under JFK and later I decided to get into local politics. I couldn't be a city councilmen right off the bat because I hadn't lived in Gravity Falls for long enough, but a man named Stanford Pines pulled strings. Let's just say we have power like that," said Wiley as he pointed at the fez he was wearing, the very same type of fez with the same logo labeled on it.

"But some people disliked it. Rich, snarky, racist folk! My nephew, Jeremy Falls, was having trouble at home. He kept saying that HE could see things. They chose to send him to stay with me. Later his parents moved here too and got the same treatment I got. That got folks even madder. The kids heard about it and didn't have a problem with it, thought it was cool they had a classmate whose uncle was sort of a secret agent or whatever. Then, the bullying began. You know the rest of the story," said Wiley. His face lit by the little bit of sunlight coming into the house. He had a tear roll down his eyes.

"I'm so sorry to hear about that," said Dipper.

"But why do you kids even care," asked Wiley.

"Because, like we said, we've been talking to Jeremy all day long," said Norman. "And he has a few things to share."

"Norman, tell him that I love him and that I don't want him to be angry and upset anymore. I'm going to be okay," said Jeremy.

"He says he loves you, and he doesn't want you to be angry and upset anymore," said Norman.

"Also, tell him, I don't want him to feel bitter towards others and please forgive," said Jeremy.

"He also doesn't want you to be bitter towards others and to please forgive," said Norman.

Wiley Falls sat there and listened.

He nodded and blinked his eyes lightly, tears streaming down.

"You know, this is around the time of the year that it happened," said Wiley.

"Mr. Falls, sir, we would love for you to come by to the shack sometime and maybe have dinner with us. I'm sure Grunkle Stan would love to see you again," said Mabel.

Wiley began to grin a little. "I would like that,"

After the few hours of talking, Dipper, Norman and Mabel walked out of the house. They learned more about the history of "Gravity Falls" than any of the last mysteries they've been on thus far. And Jeremy finally was able to say what needed to be said. Not long after, he dissipated and was officially gone. He made peace.

"We did a really good thing today, awesome not giving up Dipper," said Mabel.

"Thanks…but, did you notice something about Wiley," asked Dipper.

"What? Not the hat, we know they both are in the same club or whatever," said Mabel.

"No…not that," said Dipper. "Something, well, pretty major."

"Like what!" asked Norman.

"On his book shelf, he has the 4th book."


End file.
